Seahawks destroy 49ers in every way

I can’t promise much in the way of competent bloggery tonight because we’re hosting a house party, but most of you aren’t going to want to read much about this game anyway. Also, nobody at this party has any Adderall so I’m having a hard time focusing…

This one was more than ugly, it was painful. Kam Chancellor connected with Vernon Davis at just the right time and just the right angle to send Davis to the locker room with a concussion. It was a clean hit, perhaps less helmet-to-helmetish than Dashon Goldson’s “defenseless receiver” hit on Aaron Hernandez last week.

But losing Mario Manningham is nothing short of crippling. The 49ers’ No. 2 receiver left with a knee injury that looked a lot like a season-ender, and I’m not going to link to the GIF. You saw how Manningham cared 0% about the football’s location after Leroy Hill dove into the back of his knees, twisting and turning…

The 49ers were able to beat the Patriots in New England without Manningham, but they also had Justin Smith for most of that game. Smith’s absence was noticeable from the start, as Marshawn Lynch broke off a 24-yard touchdown run to start things off. The game wouldn’t change much from there. In fact, things would get more pathetic for San Francisco.

Besides maybe Garrett Celek, there isn’t one 49ers player or unit that performed at or above expectations.

Jim Harbaugh, meet your blooper reel.

Fumbles, interceptions, blocked field goals, delay of games, this game was a true feces storm if there ever was one.

Colin Kaepernick wasn’t very good, and he can’t handle the crowd noise. A week after looking like a genius for making the switch, Harbaugh gets hoisted on his own petard by Pete Carroll and Richard Sherman, the two men who may love sticking it to Harbaugh more than anyone.

But the defense, apart from a pretty incredible interception by Patrick Willis and a few times stopping Lynch for no gain, was nothing short of awful. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Seahawks were 11-for-12 on third down conversions (they finished 11-for-13). Russell Wilson made the 49ers’ pass rushers look silly with his evasive moves, but most of the time they didn’t even come close. Without Justin, the Smith named Aldon is not an All-Pro. He is not Von Miller or J.J. Watt. He’s a fantastic athlete surrounded by incredible talent up front. He’s very good, but he’s far from the team’s best defender.

If you can allow me to look ahead a little bit, it seems fairly obvious that the 49ers either need to spend their first round pick (or their biggest dollars in free agency) on Justin Smith’s eventual replacement. Without him, the 49ers are just another team. And an NFC West division that overflows with brutality these days, being another team doesn’t cut it anymore.

Is the season over for San Francisco? No, and they won’t have to travel to Seattle for another year. That helps. But now there almost certainly won’t be a first round bye, and the injury luck that followed the 49ers through the first half of the season has officially vanished. Harbaugh will talk about how they’ll work to improve and make sure games like these don’t happen again, but a good deal of the 49ers’ mystique was lost tonight.

They’ve been the more physical team in the vast majority of their games since Harbaugh took over, but Seattle took the fight to them on Sunday night and the results were embarrassment and casualties. The 49ers did the same thing at home, but it was more like a majority decision. The 2012 rematch in Seattle was a knockout.

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BASG (Steve Berman) and his wife started Bay Area Sports Guy in 2008, and now it's the No. 1 independent website covering Bay Area sports. You can follow him @BASportsGuy and on Facebook.

Its not whether the 49ers are a good team, or whether other teams would kill for their record, its whether the switch to Kaepernick was a good move for this year. The verdict is clearly still out on that, and the Niners defense is showing its prone to giving up big yardage. Justin Smith makes a difference to be sure, but losing one lineman is not the difference between getting shellacked, and a good game. Elite defenses do not give up 34 points in a quarter and a half one week, and then get destroyed the following week, all while embarrassing themselves with costly penalties and temper losses. Never saw that kind of thing from the Ravens in their prime. If the 49ers lose in the first round off the playoffs, then they have gone backwards. Period. Most likely they won't, but everyone who wears the Niner goggles should be at least a bit cautious about talking about the Championship game. It may have just gone through Green Bay, when it should have stayed home in SF.

Ah, how a week can change a feeble mind-set. Wow, there is some serious defeatist out there... LOL!
I was listening to KNBR after the game and Larry Kruegar mentioned it was the first time a 49er team, under Harbaugh, had been blown-out. Did they look good? Absolutely not but, unless Justin Smith is out for the rest of the season, there is no serious reason to panic.
There is a reason that Seattle hangs a banner in the rafters for #12. It is one of the toughest places to play, against one of the top (aderal induced) defenses in the League.
Calm down people. Remember the Niners lose or tie every third game. That leaves us in the NFC title game again. At that point we are going to have to break this streak.
Keep your fingers crossed for a healthy return of Justin Smith.

Any word on what the acoustics of the Santa Clara stadium are going to be like? I really hope the architects made it loud like century-link field, that truly is the best home field advantage in football

Another good question, with all due respect to the Patriots, might be "Are the Seahawks the best offense the 49ers have faced"? A 3rd consecutive game dropping 40 plus points on an opponent, and a 3rd straight 100+ yard rushing game for Lynch vs the 49ers.
Seattle came out and kicked the Niners ass from the first stop on defense. I've been waiting to see how CK would perform behind by two touchdowns, and it was not great. He wasn't terrible, but the difference in poise between Wilson, and his extra 10 games behind him, and Ck was measurable. Hate to say it, but even though Kaepernick looks better than I thought he would, this was the real litmus test...a game vs a division opponent for possibly the title and a bye...that would show how ready he is for the playoffs.
The other disconcerting thing was the lack of poise the team showed. Multiple personal foul penalties, and a shortage of composure. It was Raideresque, and I'd like to think Harbaugh has better control of the character of his team. Maybe not.
This may be anomaly, a blip after the high of the Pats win, but a mature team working towards a Super Bowl shouldn't be getting so high off a victory that it gets blown to pieces the next week in a meaningful game.

Sorry guys, but this season WAS LOST right after the draft wrapped up. Those guys may pay dividends in a couple of years from now, but here's the list of guys who went right after Jenkins who would have paid dividends IMMEDIATELY for the 49ers:
Doug Martin RB- One pick after, David Wilson RB- One pick after that, Derek Wolfe DT- couple of picks after that, Janoris Jenkins CB, Bobby Wagner LB, Lavonte David LB
I only included players drafted in between LaMichael james and AJ Jenkins AND THAT would fill a need OR RATHER Immediate depth. (ie why i didn't put Coby Fleener in there). Hindsight is 20/20 and as I said, AJ Jenkins and James may end up being world beaters in a couple of years from now, but since WE'RE only concerned with analyzing this season, the 49ers failed rather miserably in drafting in some immediate depth.

I just wish the Cards weren't such a joke this year, I can't believe the Hawks gave game 1 away to them.. Then the real team that deserves the NFC West championship would have the home game. Nothing like Century Link as you now have witnessed. Good job Niners you earned it.

Party did not hinder your analysis, BASG, I agree with your post, plus I mention again the lack of depth and weak special teams are big hurts.
Oh, they do have depth at QB, but Jimmy's ego wouldn't let Alex into the game, even to get some reps in to keep game sharp - or even better - earlier in the game when they may have salvaged it.
Main point on the Kap switch - it was a switch in offensive philosphy - ball control -not just in moving the ball and gaining yards and points, but more importantly- CONTROLLING THE CLOCK and not turning it over to the D and keeping the D on the field to the point of exhaustion and eventual failure.
"Game Managers" actually ROCK in my book.

Successful college coach leaves and turns struggling NFL franchise into dynasty: Bill Walsh and NOT Harbaugh but PETE CARROLL!!!!! Fight on SC! Seahawks exposed the most overrated team in the NFL tonight...

The verdict is not out on Alex Smith. I won't take credit for saying this but when I heard it, IT WAS SO TRUE. Alex Smith's ceiling is Kaepernick's basement.
The only thing Alex Smith has on Kaepernick is experience.

Niners are about defense first. If their defense is not top notch and physical, then they have no chance of winning. Running is second. They need to dominate the line of scrimmage and run the ball to move and control the clock. Quarterback is a distant third. Wether or not the QB happens to be alex or kap is less important on this team than on most. That will change in the future as Kap continues to develop, but right now the 49ers identity remains to be defense and running. If they don't do those two things, it almost doesn't matter who the QB is, they will lose.

So true. What a bunch of fickle, skittish minds. And its not just on this blog -- its everywhere. One week they think the niners are world beaters, 7 days later the same people are panicking in the streets. So much for 49ers "faitfhul".
Everyone have some christmas punch and relax. The niners defense was tired, extremely tired. They got run. It was a letdown. It happens. I thought the O moved the ball fairly decently, but just couldn't convert in the redzone. Then you had the blocked field goal. It was ugly, for sure. But its Seattle. Not an easy place to play.
Think about this. harbaugh, in his first two NFL seasons: 13 wins, 11 wins (Assuming they beat arizona). That is spectacular, by any measure.

Let's also not forget the brutal schedule they had this season:
@Green Bay
@N'Orleans
@New England
@Seattle
3-1 vs 3 probable Hall of Fame QBs and the most difficult place to play in the NFL.
And the NFC west is no easy place to play anymore, Arizona not withstanding.

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